Biography:

With over 20 years’ experience of indirect taxation, working both in professional practice and industry, Luigi advises UK and international businesses and not for profit organisations on a broad range of issues to ensure they are compliant, take advantage of VAT reliefs and maximise VAT recovery.  He has particular expertise in VAT recovery and attribution methods, partial exemption and business/non-business apportionments, and regularly undertakes VAT health checks for national and international businesses to identify risks and opportunities.

His sector expertise includes financial services, charities and real estate, having spent three years in the in-house tax team of a privately owned group specialising in property investment and fund management, principal investments and financial services.

Luigi is a graduate in Economics, a Chartered Tax Adviser, a UK Taxation Technician (Fellow) and an Associate of the Federation of Tax Advisers.  He is the leader of the PKF Global Indirect Tax Group, the chairman of the PKF European VAT Group, a member of the PKF Global Tax Committee and a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) indirect tax committee.

An in-demand public speaker on VAT, Luigi provides indirect tax updates and presentations to national and international audiences. He writes regularly on indirect tax, and is the editor of VAT in the EU, a country by country guide to all 27 EU member states and the UK to the post Brexit implications for international trade published by LexisNexis.

Biography:

Liz is a partner in our Global Employer Services practice and leads Deloitte’s incentives and reward legal team. She is a solicitor with 20 years experience advising on all aspects of incentives and reward.

Liz advises on the full breadth of services relating to share plans, including the design of new plans, implementing plans and their day to day operation. She has substantial experience advising on all related incentives matters and the impact of corporate transactions on share plans. Liz has deep technical knowledge on the legal and tax aspects of incentives.

Liz’s clients include major listed companies and financial services clients. She works closely with heads of reward, heads of tax, company secretaries and share plan teams as well as remuneration committee members. She also contributes to Tolley's Tax Planning.

Biography:

Nathalie Varga is a managing director at PKF Österreicher & Partner GmbH & Co KG and advises companies of various sizes and sectors on all tax and business management issues. Since passing the tax advisor exam in 2016, she has also specialised in VAT issues.

She professionally advises clients on a daily basis on all domestic and international VAT issues, while always keeping an eye on other tax topics as well. In addition to VAT, Nathalie is also an expert in the field of group taxation.

Biography:

David Everett, is the head of the Pensions Research team at LCP. One of his key roles is to analyse and communicate regulatory and professional developments to audiences both within and outside LCP.

David has built up many years of experience in the occupational pensions regulatory field covering a broad spectrum including government policy and legislation, particularly that emanating from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Pensions Regulator, the Pension Protection Fund and other compensation schemes, the Pensions Ombudsman and the Courts and the technical and ethical regulation of actuaries through the Financial Reporting Council and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries respectively.

He also assists the ACA in responding to government consultations.

He's the editor of LCP's weekly Pensions Bulletin and undertakes other technical writing for the firm, as well as contributing to TolleyGuidance Employment taxes for the Pensions module.

Biography:

Josie advises on all aspects of UK employment law, acting for individuals, charities and businesses and advising on both contentious and non-contentious matters. Josie has experience in litigation involving equal pay, disability discrimination and sex discrimination. Josie also has experience in Data Subject Access Requests, preparing policies and staff handbooks, drafting contracts of employment and advising in relation to settlement agreements.

Biography:

Ximena draws from prior experience in public law and has a successful tax advisory and litigation practice representing clients in Judicial Review, High Court claims and substantive tax appeals in the Tribunals and beyond.

In the span of her 18-year career, she has represented and appeared on behalf of taxpayers in complex Judicial Review proceedings and group appeal litigation for 350+ appellants with tax at stake of several £100m.  She is uniquely familiar with procedure, FTT rules, costs and alternative dispute resolution strategy.

Ximena has published numerous articles, case reports, commentaries and text books on tax legislation and caselaw.

Her clients include a variety of media personalities, HNW individuals, OMBs and multinational corporates.

Biography:

Melissa is the Direct Tax Controller and Group Reporting Manager at pladis, a large biscuit manufacturer with well known brands including McVities. Previously Melissa was a Tax Manager in the property team at BDO where she specialised in capital allowances. She has presented on the subject at ACCA conferences and various seminars.

She also contributes to Tolley's Property Taxation.

Biography:

With over a decade of experience as a tax advisor, I specialize in VAT, indirect taxes and customs. Trilingual in French, English and German, I advise clients from start-ups to multinational groups on complex cross-border transactions within the EU and beyond. Working in collaboration with the PKF International network, I bring practical insight and an international perspective to my work and publications.

Biography:

Philip advises on employment tax and global mobility matters.

This includes remuneration and incentive arrangements for directors and employees, benefits in kind, engagements with umbrella companies, agencies and contractors, settlement agreements, and a range of other "reward" related matters.

Philip contributes to Tolley's Tax Planning.

Biography:

Debbie trained as a Chartered Accountant with Coopers and Lybrand in London before moving into exam training in 1998 and becoming CTA qualified in 2000.

Debbie has taught tax and accountancy across various qualifications for over twenty years and was a member of the ICAEW tax exam team for a number of years.

Debbie joined Tolley Exam Training in 2004. She teaches across the ATT and CTA qualifications and is involved in material production.

Biography:

Antonia is a professional support consultant in the corporate division of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP. She specialises in giving technical advice on company law, listed company regulation and M&A, with a particular focus on public M&A. She writes regularly on developments in these areas and delivers a wide range of legal training to colleagues and clients, as well as lobbying on legal and regulatory developments. She contributes to Tolley's Tax Planning.

Biography:

I have several roles within Tolley Exam Training.

I am a senior tutor teaching on all Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) qualification exam papers, and lecturing on Awareness, Advisory Individuals, Advisory Owner Managed Businesses (OMB) and Application OMB for the Chartered Taxation Adviser (CTA) qualification.

I am the subject manager for Advisory OMB and Application OMB so I deal with syllabus updates, Finance Act updating, selection of material, exam feedback etc for these two exam papers.

I am also responsible for the VAT Compliance Diploma as lead tutor / writer / examiner.

I run the Manchester centre. Manchester is now in its eleventh year and proving very successful. I also have responsibility for several major clients.

I have been lecturing and writing in the field of taxation qualifications for over 25 years having previously qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the taxation division of Arthur Andersen.

I am a Chartered Tax Adviser and a member of the ATT.

In addition to my Tolley work I lecture on the student conferences run by the ATT and CIOT (Chartered Institute of Taxation).

My specialist areas are Personal Taxation (all aspects including IHT and Trust plus overseas aspects), Taxation of Owner Managed Businesses and VAT.

Biography:

Alan Powell is a specialist excise duties consultant, formerly a Policy official within HMCE’s HQ teams and a Big 4 tax Team.

He is an excise duties advisor to the Chartered Institute of Taxation, honorary advisor to the UK Warehousing Association, and founded the British Distillers Alliance as a conduit for consultation with, and representation to, Government bodies and to assist and advise on technical matters.

He is a Chartered Tax Advisor, a Fellow of the Institute of Indirect Taxation, and sits on the high-level Joint Alcohol and Tobacco Consultative group with HMRC and the Indirect Taxes Committee of the CIOT.

In his 65th year, he is trying to retire.

Biography:

Giovanny Téllez Cano is a tax professional with more than 10 years’ experience in the sector. A lawyer and graduate from the University of Antioquia, Giovanny also holds a masters in financial and tax law from the Complutense University of Madrid and a specialist qualification in international tax management from EAFIT University in Colombia.

Giovanny is a business adviser on all issues related to international exchange regime, tax law, international taxation and customs law, and lectures as a university professor at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

He is the author of the Colombia country guide in Tolley’s Global Mobility / Employment Taxes.

Biography:

Halil
Vice President of Tax | Tax Lawyer | Author | Lecturer

With over 13 years of extensive tax experience across Europe and the Middle East, Halil has guided international companies through complex tax landscapes in Europe and the MENAP region. His career blends advisory expertise with nearly 5 years as an in-house tax advisor, where he provided strategic guidance and successfully implemented effective tax solutions.

Halil also spent 8 years working at Big 4 firms, KPMG and PwC, where he gained invaluable experience advising clients on a wide range of tax matters. This foundation helped him build a strong technical background and the ability to address complex tax challenges with confidence.

In his most recent role, Halil established and developed a comprehensive tax function in response to the UAE’s introduction of Corporate Tax, Transfer Pricing, and Pillar 2 rules. His work included designing compliance frameworks, optimizing corporate structures, and embedding tax processes into business operations. This hands-on approach showcases his ability to translate complex regulations into practical, actionable solutions.

Halil holds a Bachelor’s in Dutch Law, a Master’s in International and European Taxation (Direct Taxes) from the University of Amsterdam, and a Post Master’s in Indirect Taxes from Maastricht University. He is the author of Fundamentals of GCC VAT, a reference for tax professionals in over 20 countries, and is currently working on a new book in the Direct Tax space. Additionally, he lectures at Middlesex University Dubai and the University of Amsterdam.

Known for his thoughtful and collaborative approach, as well as his ability to build meaningful relationships, Halil is valued by peers and professionals across the UAE, GCC, and Europe.

Biography:

David is a former partner in, and consultant to Larking Gowen, based in East Anglia, specialising in agriculture and associated private client work. He is a founder member and past chairman of the ICAEW Farming and Rural Business Community and the group’s subject matter expert. Since retiring from practice David continues his involvement with agriculture, both as a speaker at training conferences and as a farmer in his own right.

Biography:

Rebecca is a Chartered Accountant in practice, but is best known as a lecturer and author on a variety of tax matters.

She was named Best Tax Lecturer at the Taxation awards in 2007, and is widely recognised for her down to earth, practical approach to tax issues.

She lectures for a wide range of training providers and professional firms and has delivered lectures for HMRC and HM Treasury on the impact of tax changes for smaller businesses.

She serves on the Administrative Burdens Advisory Board which challenges HMRC on the subject of business burdens, and is currently Chair of the Digital Advisory Group which is supporting HMRC in understanding the needs of small businesses and their professional advisers in the move to digital.

She has won a number of awards, including HMRC's External engagement award in 2011 and was awarded an MBE in the Queen's birthday honours list in 2012 for public service and services to the tax profession.

Biography:

André is one of the founders of RSP International and since 2013 Managing Partner for Russia. He is a German Certified Auditor and Certified Tax Advisor. His main areas of expertise are taxes and accounting as well as general advice for foreign industrial investors coming to Russia.

André started his professional career in 1995 and worked in Germany as well as in many CEE countries. He is based in Russia since 2001. Beside his consulting work, he gives seminars and lectures on Russian related topics.

He is co-author of a commentary on Russian accounting (in German) as well as co-author of the Russian section of International Corporate Procedures from LexisNexis, and the Russia chapter in Tolley’s Global Mobility: Employment Taxes.